Advertisement
Published: February 12th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Wow! I can't believe that it has been almost 3 weeks since I posted on here. It really feels like it was yesterday that I was last on here. Well aolt has happened in the last weeks. Randall, Brittney and I travelled to Orccha, and then Varanasi, and then I parted ways with them, spent a few more days there and came up to a yoga retreat at an ashram in Rishikesh. Iv'e covered alot of ground already but it feels like I have barely brushed the tip of the iceberg. This counrty is so incredibly large and diverse, each state containing a completely different scenery than the next. And the people are all so unique to the place they live. I am now in Rishikesh in Uttarakhand state. It is a small little religious town nestled in the mountains along the northern tip of the Ganges. The water here is crystal clear mountain water, fresh and clean. In Varanasi the same water is brown and polluted, with gallons of sewage being pumped into it everyday. It is surprising to me, because this is the holy river of Inida. Where thousands come to bathe and wash away their impurities. They pray
along it banks, and come to die along its ghats, yet being India, they just can't seem to grasp the concept of keeping it clean. Either way though, no matter where you are, it is always moving to watch it.. always flowing grandly, always being worshiped.
I began my solo travel officially in varanasi, and while I was completely consumed with the fear of lonlieness, I have found I still can barely manage to find time to be alone. Travelling by yourself really is the best way to meet people, I have come to realize. And people from all over the world. I had a few meals with a French man who gave me a string necklace blessed by the Dali Lama. A flemish woman who I explored Varanasi with, two Lithuanian guys who accompanied me on the train to Rishikesh, and now more Brazlians than I think live in their entire country. It is the most eye opening experience to jsut sit and have conversations with people who are from such different backgrounds and have such different , and yet similar views of the world.
I came to Rishikesh to stay at an Ashram for a 10
day yoga retreat. It is as the Swami Dayananda Ashram set along the banks of the Ganges, directly across from where the Beatles stayed when they came here to meditate so many years ago. I can actaully see the huts they stayed in from the yoga hall. It is so amazingly peacful here, you can sit on a rock, contently meditating for hours without noticing that a minute has passed. We wake up in the early mornings to have 2.5 hours of iyengar yoga, have breakfast, chanting class, lunch, then sanskrit class, time to talk to the other swamis about their studies here and the world and their enlightened take on it, and then 2 more hours of yoga, guided meditation, and then satsung in the evening. By the time 9:00 comes around my head hits the pillow filled to the brim with exhausting joy. I have snuck out a couple of mornings after yoga, to go see the Prem Baba in the city, who is a Brazilian guru who is visiting Rishikesh for 3 months, conductings satsungs (which consist of singing, talks, and meditation). he has studied vedic philosophy focusing on the teachings of vedanta, and he incorporates this
message of self knowledge each morning. It has inspired me to stay here in the city after the yoga course for a little while and come to the vedanta course conducted by Swami Dayananda himself at this ashram.
Life is sweet and full and I wake up every morning and pinch myself because I am finally living my dream. Learning about the world under my own terms, and discovering new things about myself everyday. I am goina to end here because, besides stating what I already have, I am at a simple loss of words to what my life is becoming. I will try and sort out my thoughts, and give some insights about life in India next time. I hope you all are well. And thanks for following me through this adventure. I will eventaully stop babbling about it and make some sense, and hopefully have some exciting stories... Oh I did take a 16 hour train ride infested with cockroaches... and I mean INFESTED!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.083s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0618s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
Megan FitzSimmons
non-member comment
Beautiful
Wow Tony I think what you have written is absolutely beautiful, and I can relate to an extent. I love how I can feel the spiritual and mental journey you have been through. I wish I was there, hope you are well and miss you a lot. Namaste.